Tap Room No. 21 Pale Ale | World Brews

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Tap Room Brewery is a division of World Brews of Novato, CA. According to their website, Tap Room No. 21 is "an ode to the repeal of Prohibition."

Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass at 45F. No "best by" date.

A - It pours a beautiful deep amber, with ample rising bubbles. A full finger of very creamy off-white head hung around a little while, waking up with every movement of the glass, and left good lacing.

S - A quick blast of citrus on the first whiff, followed up with deeper grapefruit clarification, some herbal and woody notes, and very faint malt. You have to work for this, it doesn't jump out at you.

T - The first surprise in the flavor was the lack of the things I smelled. That big, bright citrus blast was non-existent in the taste - not necessarily a bad thing, just surprising. Big caramel is followed by sweet malt. Grapefruit-led hops provide a nicely balanced bitterness, with a little spiciness, and herbal, floral notes in the back of the mouth. Not much aftertaste. Pretty clean, despite the surprisingly intense flavors.

M - Light to medium mouthfeel, with sufficient but slightly understated carbonation. A little on the watery side, but not bad for an APA.

O - This beer was a nice surprise. I'd never heard of it, and picked it up in a "mix your own 6-pack" deal at a grocery store. It is a very easy drinking brew, smooth, and flavorful. Not a big nosegay of hops like you often get in any American Pale Ale, investing instead in flavor. Malt forward, but with a complex blend of hops. A great session beer.

L: Beautiful amber/caramel color. Little head, but a nice, lace-like halo around the edge. Surprising amount of small rising bubbles. I would rate the Look higher, but it appears a little thin and watery.

S: Gorgeous on the nose--somewhat hoppy and musty with a little spice. This is the best part of the beer.

T: I think the taste is a bit better than others have noted--probably just personal preference.

F: Thin, watery, as the Look suggests. We have come to expect just a little more body is a pale ale. It's almost like someone took a standard ale and mixed in a couple of tablespoons of tap water.

O: Not a bad beer--certainly not as bad as some other reviews would suggest--but not stellar, either. It almost seems closer to a summer ale or something of that nature.

This beer is a deep medium to dark orange color. The head is an off-white shade. It reaches about half a finger and has pretty good retention. Patching is dropped in reasonably good quantity.
Unlike the other two I've tried in this lineup, this beer seems like a pretty good representative of the style. Hops and malts are well-balanced, caramel and a little crust offsetting floral and grassy bitterness with a slightly sharp note to it. It's got a grainy undertone with a very mild astringency, but otherwise nothing off-putting and decently strong.
The hops are surprisingly strong given my expectations, coming to the forefront with the malts balancing but keeping it on the hoppier side. It's more herbal on the tongue with a not-quite-acidic sharpness and some lemon zest countered by a firm note of caramel and bread that leans toasty.
The body is medium, well-sustained and generally pretty fluffy off a consistent carbonation. It's got lots of crisp bite and some smoothness, too. A slight, very slight astringency is hinted at here and there but never quite cuts through.